Jim Moran

Mr. MORAN

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Veasey) for a unanimous consent request

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters), the ranking member of our Financial Services Committee, for a unanimous consent request

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) for a unanimous consent request.

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Roybal-Allard) for a unanimous consent request.

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren) for a unanimous consent request.

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Brownley) for a unanimous consent request.

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano) for a unanimous consent request.

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Kennedy) for a unanimous consent request.

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Michelle Lujan Grisham) for a unanimous consent request.

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) for a unanimous consent request.

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Walz) for a unanimous consent request.

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Ruiz) for a unanimous consent request.

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, I now yield for the purpose of a unanimous consent request to the dean of the New York delegation, Mr. Rangel. Parliamentary Inquiry

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, I had yielded to the gentleman from New York for a unanimous consent request, if the gentleman has a unanimous consent request.

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, at this time I would like to yield for the purpose of a unanimous consent request to the gentlelady from California (Mrs. Capps).

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, at this time I would like to yield to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Nolan) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mr. MORAN

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, on October 10th Taiwan celebrates the 102nd anniversary of the establishment of the Republic of China. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Taiwan on its impressive economic progress and strong record of democratic achievement. On this important anniversary the U.S. Congress should commit itself to strengthening our relationship by singing a bilateral investment agreement (BIA). Greater economic cooperation between Taiwan and the United States will benefit both our peoples, and support the economic integration and material well-being of the entire Pacific region. Such an agreement would provide protection for investors of the two countries and expand market opportunities for investors all over the world. I applaud the efforts of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington to maintain the strong ties that exist between the people of Taiwan and the US Congress. I look forward to ever greater cooperation between our two nations.

Mr. MORAN

Mr. MORAN. Madam Speaker, I don't want to get into the crosshairs of my friend from Minnesota, and if I had sugar beet farmers in my district, I suppose I might have a different position; but I would like to talk about jobs because that is why I support restoring the Secretary of Agriculture's ability to keep sugar prices at a reasonable level year-round, not just during the arbitrary 6-month period dictated by the 2008 farm bill. Between 1997 and 2011, nearly 127,000 jobs were lost in segments of the food and beverage industry that use sugar in the products they make, while employment actually rose in food industry segments that don't use sugar. Today, there are an estimated 600,000 Americans directly employed in the food manufacturing industry. It is an enormously important industry. The U.S. Department of Commerce says that for every one sugar production job saved, our current sugar program eliminates three jobs in food manufacturing. That is a loss of manufacturing jobs at a rate of 100,000 per year. And the fiscal impacts of our sugar policies are just as disturbing. Since this issue was debated on the House floor only 6 weeks ago, the sugar program has cost the taxpayer $90 million. And I am informed that the total cost to the taxpayer this year alone will exceed $150 million. The Congressional Budget Office projects another $239 million in the outyears of the bill. We don't need to be hitting up the taxpayer for this money. We can make modest reforms to U.S. sugar policy while still leaving a safety net in place for U.S. sugar farmers and processors. This motion strikes the right balance. It is modest and commonsense policy. It is scaled back to include just one of the reforms that the House considered 2 months ago. Madam Speaker, I think this should be supported. It is a modest, important reform. I think it is appropriate in light of the context of our farm policy. We are making reforms in other areas, and this is one area where we really do need to reform on behalf of the American consumer and on behalf of the need for more manufacturing jobs in the United States of America.

Mr. MORAN

Mr. MORAN. I thank my good friend from New York, and I trust that my very good friend from Kentucky wasn't referring to anybody on this side of the aisle when he used the word ``pontificate.'' Obviously, Madam Speaker, on this side of the aisle we are going to vote for this bill. The Democrats never wanted to shut down any of the government in the first place. But I want to remind my colleagues that the vast majority of Federal employees in their districts are considered nonessential. I would like for my colleagues to reflect on what that means within each individual family when a breadwinner, who has been working hard at a job--making his family proud or her family proud--comes home and has to announce that they're furloughed because they were considered to be nonessential. Imagine if that happened in the House and, if we had to divide up between essential and nonessential, how we would feel. I know it brings smiles as it did in the caucus just a few minutes ago, but think about it. It's wrong to have this arbitrary distinction. Ninety percent of the IRS is considered nonessential; 90 percent of the Department of Energy, 90 percent of the Environmental Protection Agency, 81 percent of the Interior Department, 70 percent of the intelligence agencies are considered non essential. They're not nonessential. They're working hard. They ought to be able to get back to their jobs. We need them to be back to their jobs. It's very disappointing that the Senate has held up the bill that we voted for unanimously on Saturday--I hope they'll let that loose--but the reality is, when we vote to pay people, we recognize they deserve to be paid, and if they're being paid, all of them want to be working for that pay. So that's what we need to do. We need to open the entire government. Let everyone work for their pay as they want to do.

Mr. MORAN

Mr. MORAN. I thank my very close friend from Baltimore, Maryland, for yielding me the time. Mr. Speaker, this bill is truly bipartisan. We have 177 cosponsors, 32 Republicans. It ensures that all Federal employees will be paid for the duration of the Federal Government shutdown. The issue is fairness. It's just wrong for the hundreds of thousands of Federal employees not to know whether they're going to be able to make their mortgage payment, not to know whether they're going to be able to provide for their families. Many of them live from paycheck to paycheck, and they're absolutely committed to paying their bills when they come due. I'm sure that this experience has been shared by many of our colleagues. They come to our offices. In fact, just 2 days ago, a woman came in and she started to kind of matter of factually explain the financial situation she had. And she just broke down sobbing. ``I don't know how I can provide for my children if I don't get my paycheck.'' It wasn't through her fault. She didn't do anything wrong. It wasn't through any kind of performance. She's a hardworking employee. She's got commendations. But we decided, because we haven't been able to fix the budget situation, that we're going to allow this government to shut down. So she's collateral damage. It's wrong--800,000 people are suffering. This would relieve their anxiety. That's why it's a simple matter of fairness, Mr. Speaker. Now of course on this side of the aisle, we feel strongly that if we could just bring up a simple appropriations bill today, tomorrow, it would pass because there are enough Republicans that want to do that, combined with virtually all of the Democrats. But whether that happens or not, when it happens, this bill does need to happen. It should be borne in mind, keeping these individuals at home is costing us about $300 million a day in lost productivity. Hundreds of Federal workers have come to our offices, asking us to do this, asking us more importantly to let them go back to their work. They're dedicated to their jobs. So that's the underlying message, let them get back to work. But in the meantime, let's get this passed. And let's bear in mind that this bill is introduced in a context that over the last 4 years, the Congress has frozen Federal employees' pay. We've cut their pension benefits, and we've furloughed thousands as a result of the sequester. The cumulative impact actually of these punitive measures will cost each Federal employee an average of $50,000 over the budgeted period. I don't think that's fair. It's not right to punish a workforce of civil servants for whom we are the board of directors. We're responsible for this. Let's do the right thing. Let's get a unanimous vote for this bill simply because it is the right thing to do.

Mr. MORAN

Mr. MORAN. I thank my good friend from North Carolina. Let me first address the issue that we just heard about on the floor and I seem to hear about every time I turn on the news when a Member of the other party is speaking about it. It's this suggestion that Members of Congress want to keep some special treatment for themselves in terms of health insurance. The fact is that the vast majority of large employers pay for most of their employees' health insurance costs. Members of Congress are part of what is called the Federal Employees Health Benefits plan. On average, about 72 percent of our insurance is paid for by our employer. I know in my case, since I have a family and had a daughter that had a massive malignant brain tumor, I'm not going to go without insurance. But I pay $6,000 a year, which I suspect a lot of my colleagues do. And then I pay another few thousand in terms of copayments and deductibles. And yet mine is one of the best plans that you can get with Blue Cross Blue Shield. So that's not out of the mainstream in terms of health insurance. The fact is that the President only delayed a reporting requirement with regard to large employers. Now, let me get back to this case in point with regard to FEMA. When we have a natural disaster, such as this hurricane that's bearing down on the coast of Louisiana, the Federal Government comes in as a team. We know that. I know Mr. Carter knows that. I know my good friend from Kentucky knows that the Federal agencies all get together as a team. And they know how important, for example, the Army Corps of Engineers is. The Army Corps of Engineers works hand-in-glove with FEMA. The Interior Department provides firefighter and emergency response before and after a disaster. We just had these large fires in California and Idaho. The fire is out so now they're furloughed. Is that really what we want to do?

Mr. MORAN. I greatly thank my close friend from North Carolina. The U.S. Geological Survey has to activate stream gauges and storm surge measurements. It's technical, but it's important. But 99 percent of the USGS is furloughed. The Small Business Administration Office of Disaster Assistance comes in in an emergency and tries to help small businesses that have been wiped out, which invariably happens and will happen with this storm, unfortunately. But they're all furloughed. They're not going to be able to be there. The Natural Resources Conservation Service, they play a critical role. Ninety-nine percent of those employees are furloughed. The Farm Services Agency, 99 percent of those employees are furloughed. That's the problem. They need to work as a team, and here we are with these bits and pieces of the government, and we think we're going to patch this up. We're not. The fact is that the whole of government needs to be put back to work. That's our argument. Let's do this the right way, not in this kind of piecemeal fashion. That's why we're forced to vote against these things. The fact is we voted to keep them open. The side that's proposing this piecemeal approach voted to shut down the government.

Mr. MORAN

Mr. MORAN. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. MORAN

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, the public has been witness to extraordinary divisiveness between the Republicans and Democrats in this House. But I think it's important that the public bear in mind that we have a law that was passed, passed substantially in the House and the Senate-- granted, it was primarily by Democrats, of course. But it was signed by the President. And then we had a Presidential election. A major issue was the Affordable Care Act. That's why it was called ObamaCare. And President Obama won by 5 million votes, Mr. Speaker. Now, Mr. Speaker, the issue is the funding of the Federal Government. Virtually all the Democrats voted to fund the government. Virtually all of the other side, Mr. Speaker, voted not to. So now, for the Republican majority to come up and try to open up different agencies, suggesting that we don't want to do that--they're the ones that closed them, Mr. Speaker. We're the ones that voted to keep them open. What we want to do is to open up the government. And if we do it in bits and pieces, we create more dissension within the Federal workforce. We shouldn't do that. The American public deserves better from us.

Mr. MORAN

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, this Republican shutdown is an outrageous abdication of Congress' responsibility. It didn't need to be this way. In fact, if the House leadership were to call up a clean continuing resolution appropriations bill today it would pass. There are a sufficient number of votes from both sides of the political aisle to pass the measure. So far, however, the House Republican leadership has refused to do so, afraid of extremists within its own caucus--the so- called Ted Cruz Tea Party faction--whose demand is to shut down the government until the Affordable Care Act is either repealed or delayed. So the American people's government has shut down. Ninety percent of the employees of the Environmental Protection Agency have been furloughed. Eighty-four percent of the employees of the Department of Interior all over the country, but mostly in the Western States, have all been furloughed. Seventy percent of the employees of our essential intelligence agencies have now been furloughed. Recipients of the Women, Infants, and Children program, the most vulnerable mothers and children, have had their livelihoods jeopardized. The National Institutes of Health have had to turn away 30 children with cancer from clinical trials. We in this House must end this shutdown. This debate isn't even about the budget. The President and the Senate have already agreed to trillions of dollars of cuts set by the so-called Ryan Republican budget even though this draconian budget will endanger basic government operations, it will disinvest in our children's future, and it will trigger even more Federal employee furloughs and possible RIFs. Rather, this shutdown is about a measure that strengthens insurance coverage for the roughly 260 million Americans who have insurance. It will also eliminate preexisting conditions and lifetime limits and makes health insurance available and affordable to roughly 40 million uninsured Americans through State exchanges where insurance companies compete to provide coverage, and through expansion of the Medicaid program. The Affordable Care Act is the law of the land. It has been affirmed as constitutional by the Republican-dominated Supreme Court and by a 5 million vote majority of the American people with the defeat of the Presidential candidate who promised to repeal it less than a year ago. Regardless of where one may stand on the issue of the Affordable Care Act--aka ObamaCare--our Democratic process for enacting laws and setting policy should not be held hostage to the threat of a government shutdown. It sets a terrible precedent for the future. My Republican colleagues continue to demand concessions with serious long-term consequences in exchange for funding a spending bill for just a relatively few more days, another 45 days or so. They want long-term concessions at their preferred inadequate spending levels. What unreasonable demands will be made when this latest CR expires in 2 months or 1 month? These attempts to overturn the democratic results of the last election by threat-making and hostage-taking must end now. We should do our job, fund the government, and we should remove the looming threat to the global economy in the form of the expiration of the debt ceiling, which will occur in just a couple of weeks. Not content with the economic destruction and hardship brought by their government shutdown and their refusal to let the Federal Government play its historic role to stimulate a strong economic recovery, House Republicans continue to threaten the full faith and credit of the United States. As President Obama noted, if the tables were turned and you had a Republican President and a Democratic Speaker, as you did during the Reagan administration, neither Speaker O'Neill nor the American people would tolerate what is going on today. In fact, that is the situation that we have today--a broken Congress, a situation where the American people's voices aren't heard or represented. It is time for us to heed the American people, to let the majority of this Congress determine public policy. Let's stop the extremism. Let's be responsible. Let's pass this continuing resolution clean and go on with the business of the government.